Serious question, is back issue hunting better than trades or am I doing this wrong?

I tried collecting single issues for a full story arc for the first time last month. Hit up three different shops in my area and spent about $40 tracking down seven issues of a series. Two of them had creased covers and one was missing the back page. Meanwhile my buddy just buys the trade paperback for $15 and moves on. I thought digging through bins would feel more authentic but honestly it just stressed me out. On the other hand, there's something cool about owning the original printing with the ads and letters pages. Has anyone else switched from floppies to trades and felt like they got a better deal?

2 comments

2 Comments

carr.brooke4d ago

Yeah the condition thing is a real gamble with back issues. I switched to trades for the same reason after a Nightwing run where three different issues had spine ticks from bad storage. But something people skip is that trades often have bonus material. I picked up a Hellboy trade last year and it had a sketchbook section with character designs that never made it into the single issues. Now I only hunt floppies if the series is short or the art is the main draw.

the_rowan4d ago

Those hidden sketchbook sections and design notes are such a nice bonus. It's like getting a free behind-the-scenes pass in your favorite book.